Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-09-22

Edison; the Wizard.

Says the Philadelphia Times. A
smooth faced, thick-set, Youthful
| looking man, attircd in q gray suit,
and accompanied byitwo hanlsons
young women, stepped briskly up to
the desk Of the Continental hotsl Of
flee, yesterday afternoon. and reg's-
tered in = plain round baek-hand.
Thomas A. Edison, Orange, n. }. :"
1t was the wizard Of electricity. The
young women were his wife and SIS
ter-in-law. He appeared to be enjoy
ing the best of health, and said the
stories of his being at the point OF
death while in Florida were without
foundation. He said he had come 20
Philadelphia to purchase electrical APP
paratus for his new laboratory At
Llewellen. n. J.
The laboratory, the erection OF
which has just begun. will when fin
ished be as large as the University OF
DEVOTED entirely to experimenting.
The machinery will be of the largest
and most improved patterns, the ma
chine-shop alone being two hundred
feet in length. Mr. Edison. in speak
ing of the cost of experimenting, said
he had expended over s.. 900. 900 in ex-
perimenting, but as it was strictly in
the line of his business he had found
it money well invested In speaking
of his Florida trip he said he was so
well pleased with the climate that ihe
had erected permanent laboratory
on the banks of the Caloosahatchie
river, where he will continue his eX-
periments every winter. He has
erected number of electric-light
plants in several Florida towns, but
he has not devoted much time to
plants.
One of his most interesting expert
meuts was in submarine signaling, by
which messages can be transmitted
from ship to ship by means of steam
whistles operated by keys in the same
manner rs Geographic instruments
All his experiments have so far been
confined to the waters Of the Caloosa-
hatchic, where he has succeeded in
conveying intelligent messages dis
lance of one mile. The principle on
which he will eudeavor to perfect his
experiment is the remarkable facili-
ty afforded by water for transmitting
sound.
Divers in the ocean have heard the
swish of steamer fifteen miles away,
and Mr.. Edison thinks he can trans
init his message from ship to ship
distance of at least seven miles.
What he purposes doing after he has
perfected his apparatus is to have the
large Oceenf steamships equipped with
-
the steam whistles and transmtferS;;
Under the water line of each steamer
will be sounder connected with the
captains cabin by thin transmitting
wire running through q tube. When
the captain of one vessel wants to
signal another he will sit down tot
his keyboard, turn the steam on his
whistle, manipulate the keys, aud
send the message out into the waves
that break against the sounSer. This
sound will pass unbroken from wave
To wave with remarkable velocity un-
til it runs up against the sounder of
some vessel or vessels which may hap |
pen to be within reach OF the volume |
of sound.
As soon as the wave containing the !
sound strikes the sounder on the aull |
of the vessel or vessels within reach, |
the message viii run over the cleo
trical wire to the captains CABIN. |
where it will ring an electrical bell.
An attendant will then take down the |
message as it comes from the water by |
means of telcgraphic keys, as conn
fortably and correctly as though he
were sitting in one Of Jay Gould's |
Western Union Telegraph offices re-
ceiving news about one of Jay Gould
big deals.
After the message has been received |
the captain can swing his vessel around |
and continue the message thron IL |
seven miles Of water. in the same Ill
rection, until it strikes another steam
er, when the operation may be re-
peated until the whole breadth of the
ocean has been crossed.